the grand tourista

I woke up early today so I could get as much sightseeing in as possible. I’m only in Florence for one full day so I did my best to fill it up with as much touristy stuff as I could stomach. To be perfectly honest I hate running around being a tourist. I would much rather see a couple of things at a time, float around, wander, eat, and chat. The whirlwind, shove ten churches, three museums, and a trip to the zoo all in under in 15hours is not my style. I did, however, make an attempt today to see some stuff.
I decided to make my one big expensive tourist attraction Michelangelo’s David, and I am so glad that I did. The line went fast and all of the sudden it seemed I was standing in the presence of one of the most breathtaking pieces of Art that I have ever seen. Michelangelo once said that David was in that piece of marble all he had to do was take away the extra pieces to get to him. I don’t know about that, but I appreciate his humility. I can’t believe that a piece of rock could be shaped to express the depth of feeling and emotion that is present in David. It was truly awe-inspiring. I eavesdropped on an awesome tour guide and learned some interesting things about Renaissance art. One thing that he said that really struck me as something I could use in my life was that Michelangelo took what he knew, and then pushed it a bit farther into the unknown. And the result, was something new and amazing!
After David, I was really in a good mood. I wandered through the streets stopping at different churches and attending a few minutes of mass as I went along. I love all of the monks and nuns, and they are all over the place on Sunday. I ended up strolling along the Arno River and crossing it and stopping in a quiet little park along the riverside. After a power nap in the shade, I headed up the hill to get a view of Florence from up above. I wandered up and down and ended up walking along an ancient looking wall. At the bottom I stopped for a yummy bite to eat and then headed up again to check out the views from the other side of the hill. Amazing! At the top of the hill there is a big beautiful church where I ended up getting to hear an organ concert and Gregorian monks chant. It was the perfect church experience, and after seeing as many churches as I’ve seen in the last few months that says a lot. I decided that a shower was in order and I headed back out of town to freshen up before dinner. On the way I stopped in and had some homemade gelato from one of the best gellatoria in Italy, Vivoli’s. I tried the fig, and ended up going with chocolate orange and rice. They weren’t kidding around, it really is fantastic.